• Philip Zazove, Melissa A Plegue, Elie Mulhem, Kate Panzer, Samantha Ratakonda, Ananda Sen, Jenna Greenberg, Anna McEvoy, Paul R Kileny, and Michael M McKee.
• From the Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (PZ, MAP, KP, SR, JG, AM, MMM); Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, Michigan (EM); Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan (PRK) pzaz@med.umich.edu.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2023 May 8; 36 (3): 439448439-448.

BackgroundIndividuals with hearing loss (HL) are at higher risk for hospitalizations, and may be for readmissions, compared with their hearing peers. The objective of this prospective study was to confirm retrospective studies suggesting that HL increases hospital readmissions, and, if confirmed, possible causes for it.MethodsA prospective cohort study of English-speaking patients >55 years old admitted to general medical and surgical floors at 2 large hospital systems in southeastern Michigan over a 2-year period was conducted. All patients underwent bedside audiometric testing. HL presence and severity were categorized using World Health Organization pure tone assessment parameters. Readmission rates, Charlson comorbidity index, socio-demographic and medical variables were obtained from Epic EMR databases.OutcomesThere were 1247 hospitalized patients enrolled. Of these, 76.8% had documented HL of which 50.5% (630) was mild HL and 26.3% (328) moderate or worse HL. Patients with any HL were older and more likely to be non-Hispanic, white, male, and had less education, lower health literacy, more comorbidities, and more difficulty communicating with their doctor. Readmission rates at 30 and 90-days were similar between HL and hearing groups, after adjusting for HL severity, Charlston index, and numerous potential confounders.ConclusionPatients with HL do not seem to have higher rates of hospital readmissions. We did find high frequency of HL in hospitalized patients along with significant communication difficulties that patients had with their clinicians. These findings have implications for measures to improve patient-physician communication, potentially improving long-term health outcomes.© Copyright by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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